Laser printer cost per page

[mcarnes]

I was about to get a photocopier (about $350) and was wondering if a laser printer might be a better choice. Does anyone know how the cost per page compares between a $350 copier and a laser printer? I'm only talking about ink cost here, not the machine itself.

All the documents I print are AppleWorks documents on my Mac, so I don't need to make copies of things on paper. Will the laser printer be a better choice?

Thanks!

 

[sw1tcher]

You can figure out the cost per page by finding out how much the toner cart will cost for a particular laser printer and then divide that by the number of pages the cart is rated for.

For example, if a toner cart costs $70 and it is rated for 2,000 pages, that's 70/2,000 = $0.035 per page (approx.)

Just keep in mind that you'll never get the rate number of pages per cart. But it will give you somewhat of an idea of your cost per page.

Another thing to keep in mind is whether the laser printer also uses a drum cartridge or not as that can later add quite a bit to the operating costs. Drum units usually run anywhere from $100 to $200.

 

[Sun Baked]

The cheap laser printers are going to have a high cost per page, as will the copiers.

The absolute worst cost per page are the cheap inkjet.

If you look at some of the HP printers, you'll see some cartridges that last a long time. But those cartridges can also cost $150-350 -- so they are about as much as a copier.

http://www.hp.com/sbso/product/supplies/compatchart.pdf

However some of those laser printers are fast, include duplex units, hold a bunch of paper, etc.

And can save you some time if you do a lot of printing, or money if you continually visit Kinkos.

Just look at how much you print, how often you want to replace the cartridge and what you want to pay for it, the features you need ... then take a look at cartridges and printers.

Though a really cheap cartridge can be a royal PIA -- at times -- if you can only get it online...

Edit: Even if you don't like HP, the other companies will generally have a competing printer that falls right next the the HP product. So the chart is still useful.

 

[mkrishnan]

I guess one more wrinkle is the extent to which cheap toner refill kits or services have been successful for other people with that printer. A lot of people seem to report (with certain printers, esp) that they can refill the toner cartridge many times without having to replace it.

I think for cheap lasers, cost of operation is typically on the order of $0.04-0.06/page in the US? CNET budgets $0.02-0.03 for toner per page for a low-cost inkjet, so if you add $0.02-0.03/page for paper, that should be about right.

 

[Mood]

get this laser printer samsung laser printer ml1740

do a search on google for reviews on it (look for it on cnet), it's very reliable/low price (find on slickdeals.net for 30-40 dollars), toner catridge costs like 80 dollars but last like 3000 pages. very good